Filling needle



Feb. 25, 1964 H. 1'. ONEELL 3,122,173

FILLING NEEDLE Filed 001'. 26, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 0 ffA/swr TONE/LL H. T. ONEILL FILLING NEEDLE Feb. 25, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 26, 1961 United States Patent 01 3,122,173 FEE- ENG l *EEDLLE Harry T. GIQeill, New Bed-ford, hiass, assignor to The Iontinental Elastic Corporation, New Redford, Mass, a corpo ation of Belaware Filed Oct. 26, 196i, Ser. No. 147,941 6 Claims. (Cl. 139--124) This invention relates to the art of looms and more particularly to a shuttleless loom for weaving narrow fabrics or webs.

As conducive to an understanding of the invention, it is noted that where in looms of the above type such as is shown in Patent No. 2,180,831, dated November 21, 1939, a knitting needle is provided on one side of the shed and the weft or filling is inserted into the shed by a filling needle which enters the shed from one side and carries a weft thread that is engaged by the knitting needle so that a knitted selvage is formed on one edge of the web with the weft thread filling the shed, where the filling needle and the knitting needle come into contact and the knitting needle is stressed or bent with each stroke of the fill g needle, the knitting needle is likely to break down rap'dly with resultant frequent need for replacement, and this is especially true where the loorn is operated at relatively high speed. Where to eliminate the engagement of the filling and knitting needles, the filling needle is of the type shown in iatent No. 2,980,- 146, having a bifurcated end defining a pair of parallel legs, one of said legs having a thread opening and the other being bifurcated to define a pair of fingers, with a span of thread extending through the opening and between said fingers, and the legs straddle the knitting needle during ope ation, so that only such span of thread engages the l knitting needle, wear and breakdown or" the knitting needle is greatly minimized.

However, where yarns are being knitted that have filaments sticking out, when the shed is formed, adiacent yarns may together wit the result that the hiiurcated filling needle may pick up such adjacent yarns and push the span of t read so that it is not engaged by the needle so that a pick is missed resulting in a fiaw appearing in the fabric.

It is accordingly among the objects of the invention to provide a loom the above type having a filling needle and a knitting needle and that will form a web with a knitted selvage at least on one edge, without engagement of the filling and knitting needles, thereby ei nating undue st ess of the knitting needle and permitting hi h speed operation of the loorn without likelihood of breakdown due to failure of the knitting needle, and which will prevent interference by warp threads not properly tnoved when the s ed is formed, with the span of thread carried by the f ng needle so that the fabric will be substantially devoid of flaws due to missing the picks.

According to the invention the filling needle has a bifurcated end defining a pair of parallel legs. One of the legs at its free end an eye through which the filling thread extends and the other leg is also bifurcated defining a short finger and a long finger, in the form of a loop the end of the latter being secured to the end of the first leg and being curved away from the first leg and extending outwardly thereof to form a carnrning member.

The filling needle is slidably mounted in a horizontal plane in em upright support that is free to pivot about its axis and the needle is reciprocated in manner also to cause the support to pivot about its axis and the support is positioned on one side of the web to be formed, with the filling needle adapted to be moved through the shed formed the web in conventional manner.

3,122,113 Patented Feb. 25, 1964- "ice Mounted on the support is a thread deflector which has a portion thereof extending substantially parallel to the needle in a plane slightly above that of the latter and on the side thereof associated with the shorter finger of the bifurcated leg. The deflector at the end of such parallel portion is downwardly inclined and then extends laterally beneath and across the needle, past the other side thereof.

The filling needle is designed to coact with a knitting needle extending parallel to the web on the other side thereof in such manner that a portion of the filling thread spanning between the legs of the filling needle will be engaged by the hook end of the knitting needle when the latter is straddled by the legs of the filling needle, so that thereafter the knitted selvage may be formed in conventional manner and any of the Warp threads in the path of movement of the filling needle will be engaged by the carnrning member so that they will not interfere with the span of thread, enabling the latter to be dependably engaged by such hook end.

Upon the return stroke of the filling needle, the defiector will position a length of thread to span across the parallel legs of the filling needle for the next cycle.

In the accompanying drawings in which are shown one or more of various possible embodiments of the several features of the invention,

FIG. l is a partial side elevational view of the loom,

FIGS. 2, 3 and 4- are top plan views showing the filling needle in various operative positions,

FIGS. 5 and 6 are top plan view on an enlarged scale partly in section showing the filling needle coacting with the knitting needle,

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 5 showing the knitting needle after a loop has been formed,

FIG. 8 is a detail perspective view showing the filling needle coasting with the knitting needle,

H6. 9 is a detail perspective view of the filling needle mount and deflector,

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line 1il-lll of FIG. 8, showing the action of the carnrning member, and

ll is a perspective view of the front end of the filling needle.

Referring now to the drawings, the loom which is designed for saving narrow fabrics or webs is similar many respects to the loom shown in said Patent No. 2,130,831 and hence will be described only sufiiciently for a clear understanding of the invention. Thus, the loom comprises take-up rollers (not shown) which draw the finished web 12 that is formed from warp threads 13 fed from suitable supply rolls (not shown) through the eyes of conventional heddle plates 34 to form a shed l5.

Positioned laterally of the web 12 is a disc Ito mounted on a vertical shaft 1'7 rising from the bed 2! of the loom and driven in any suitable manner so as to rotate in a clockwise direction. from disc 16 adjacent its periphery and rotatably mounted thereon is a rod 18 which carries a block 19 at its upper end that has a transverse bore therethrough.

Positioned in said bore and secured therein as by set screws 21 is one end of a weft or filling needle 22 which is slidably positioned in the transverse bore of a block 23 mounted on the upper end of an upstanding rod 2 rotatably mounted on the bed 20 on the same side of the web as the shaft l7".

Cooperating with the filling needle 22 is a knitting needle 23 which extends parallel to the web on the side thereof remote from disc 16. The needle 28 which is carried in a reciprocable carriage block 29, is of conventional type having a hook 31 at one end and a pivoted latch bar 32 adjacent said hook end.

A'rigid wire 34 (FIG. 6) that serves as a guide for the other edge of the web 12 extends parall l to the warp thread that defines such edge. A reed 35 is provided for beating up the filling toward the fell of the shed in conventional manner.

The equipment thus far descriebd is not per so new, being substantially shown and described in said Patent No. 2,180,831.

According to the invention, the filliru needle 22 has its free end bifurcated as shown in FIG. 8 to define a pair of parallel legs 36 and 37, the end of the uppermost leg 36 having a thread opening or eye 33 therethrough.

The lowermost leg 37 is also bifurcated defining a short finger 41 and curved long finger 42 i the form of a loop, the end of the latter being secured to the end of leg 56, said loop 42 being curved outwardly away from the finger 41 at substantially a 45 degree angle with respect thereto beyond the associated side of the needle and beyond the extremity of said finger 43;, said loop or finger 42 defining a cannning member, the space 43 between fingers 41, 42 being directly beneath the opening 38.

The block 23 mounts a deflector or throw over member 45 which extends laterally therefrom adjacent the end of the transverse bore, through which the needle 22 extends. The deflector member has a portion 46 extending substantially parallel to the needle 22 in a plane slightly above that of the latter and on the side thereof associated with the shorter finger 41 of the bifurcated leg 37. The deflector at the end of such parallel portion is downwardly inclined as at 47 and then extends lat rally beneath and across the needle as at 48 past the other side thereof.

More particularly in the illustrative embodiment shown, the deflector member is a length of reversely bent still Wire having both of its ends secured to the block 23.

Associated with the disc 16 is a thread plate 51 which comprises a bracket having a horizontal leg 52 with an opening 53 at one end through which the filler thread F extends from a suitable supply roll (not shown).

In the operation of the loom, the filling thread is laid in the shed by the action of the needle 22.

Referring to PEG. 8, where a portion or" thread F passes through the opening 3% of the leg of the needle 22 and is positioned in the space 43 between the fingers '41, 42 spanm'ng between the legs 36, 37, as the disc 16 is rotated in a clockwise direction from the position shown in FIG. 2, the outer end of the needle 22 will follow the path shown by the small arrows representing opening 38, i.e., the end of the needle will move in a counterclockwise direction toward the hook end 31 of the knitting necdle 2 5 and also will be retracted.

As the legs 36, 37 of the retracting filling needle 22 assover the hook end 31 of the knitting needle and straddle the latter (FIGS. 5 and 8), the span of thread between he legs of the filling needle will be engaged by the end of the knitting needle 28 between the hook end l l'thereof and the open'latch 32 The kni ting needle 28 is then retracted from the position shown in FIG. 6 to the position shown in FIG. 7, by movement of its carrier 2-5 to cast oil the previous loop 'A or" fil g which has previously rnoved below the latch. Thus, such loop, as the openlatch 32 moves therethrough, closes the latch 32 so that the loop will pass over the portion of thread engaged by the hook so that such portion will also forrn a loop B. 7,

As the disc 16 rotates further in a clockwise direction,

'say to the position shown in FIG. 3, the filling needle 22 will be completely w V drawn from the shed adjacent the fell thereof and. at this time theheddles 14 are actu- ,ated in conventional manner to change the shed and the reed 35 is moved forwardly through theshed to beat up V opening3 in the upper leg as of the filling needle 22 then beneath the deflector 4-5 at the outer end 4'7 thereof to the web 12 as at C. The outer end of the needle 22 will also be substantially retracted as shown so that the deflector extends beyond such end.

With further rotation of the disc, say to the position shown in FIG. 4, the needle 22 will again start to extend and as the portion of the thread extending beneath the deflector member is aligned with the space 43 between the lower fingers 41, 42 (FIG. 9) it will be picked up by the short finger 41 so that as the needle is further extended with continued rotation of the disc 16, there will be the desired span of thread between the upper and lower legs 3e, 37 for the next knitting cycle.

As the filling needle 22 starts to extend, the reed will be retracted as shown in FIG. 4 so that the filling needle will be free to again move through the shed.

When the filling needle 22 again moves through the shed toward the hook end 31 of the knitting needle 28, the latter will again be extended as previously described.

As this occurs, the knitting needle will slide through the loop previously formed which is engaged by th hook and this will cause the latch 32 to open (FIG. 5) and as the knitting needle 23 extends further, the loop will complete y pass over the latch 32 and the hook end 31 of the needle is free to receive the span carried by the filling needle. Thereafter the cycle repeats.

As the heddles 14 are reciprocated with each cycle, the web will be woven in conventional manner, the action of the filling needle 22 and the knitting needle 28 providing a knitted sclvage at one edge and a loop at the other edge as shown in FIG. 7, the edge wire 34 supporting such other edge as the filling thread F is passed around the associated warp thread 13.

The movement of the filling needle, knitting needle, reed and heddle plates are properly correlated conventional manner to avoid interference. Thus, the filling needle 22 enters the shed 15 at the rear, moves forward therein and moves out at the forward end and the knitting needle 2-8 is moved forwardly to be engaged by the span of thread carried by the filhng needle 22 when the latter has passed through the shed and is moving outwardly therefrom.

The operation above described is the normal operation when theshed is completely free from any warp threads.

However, when yarn or thread is being used with protruding filaments, adjacent warp thread W may engage as shown irt FIG. 1 and in broken lines in FlG. 2 so as to extend in the shed S in the path of movement or" the filling needle 22.

In such case the following will occur. As the filling needle 22 passes through the shed, if the threads W are ali ned with the space between the parallel legs 3-5, 37, the cainrning member or finger 42 will engage the threads W and such threads with continued movement of the needle 22 will be cainrned downwardly so that they will extend over finger .1 and beneath elongated finger 42 as shown in FEGS. 8 and 10 and will be under tension, extending in a plane at right angles to that of the span of thread between legs 36 and 37 at the base of such span so that the latter will not be deflected.

if the threads W are in a plane above that of the reversely bent end 32' of the carnrning member 42, the latter will defiect or cam such threads upwardly clear of the space between the parallel legs 36, 37.

Thus, there will be no interference by the threads W, with the span of thread between legs 36 and 37 so that such span maybe engaged by the hook end of needle 2 3 and the stitch formed in the manner previously described.

As the filling needle is'returnedto its retracted'posi- V n of the threads 5 28, but only the span of thread carried by the filling needle 22 engages said needle 23. As a result, no undue stress due to bending of the knitting needle is imparted thereto and the loom may operate at high speeds without need for frequent stoppage due to breakdown of said knitting needle.

If not for the camming action provided by the finger .2, the threads W would press the span of thread back to the root end of the fingers, so that the hook end of the needle would not be engaged by the span of thread with the result that no pick would occur causing defects in the material. The construction herein provided prevents such improper operation.

As many changes could be made in the above equipment and many apparently widely diiferent embodiments of this invention could be made Without departing from the scope of the claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a loom, having shed forming means, a filling needle slidably and pivotally mounted on one side of the shed, means on the end of said needle slidably to mount a vertical span of thread, a carnming member carried by said needle to retain warp threads in the shed engaged by the filling needle in a plane substantially at right angles to the plane of said vertical span and at the bottom end of the latter, a knitting needle on the other side of the shed, said needle having a hook end, means for swinging said filling needle about its pivotal mount so that the end of said filling needle enters the wide end of the shed and is projected therefnrough to the opposite side thereof and is retracted in a path adjacent the fell of the shed and is advanced along the side of the shed on which the filling needle is mounted to a point adjacent the wide end of the shed, said path being such that the vertical span of thread carried by said filling needle will be engaged by the hook end of the knitting needle, said hooked needle being reciprocably mounted to knit loops in the thread.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which said camming member has a portion adapted to deflect the warp threads in the shed engaged by the filling needle away from said vertical span of thread.

3. In a loom, having shed forming means, a filling needle, a mount slidably and pivotally supporting said filling needle on one side of the shed, said needle having a bifurcated end defining a pair of parallel aligned legs, the free end of the upper leg having an opening for filling thread and the free end of the lower leg being bifurcated to define a pair of fingers lying in the same plane and defining a space beneath said opening, one of said fingers being curved outwardly away from the other finger and toward the leg having said thread opening, means to position the thread extending through said opening between the fingers of said legs, a knitting needle on the other side of the shed, said needle having a hook end, means for swinging said filling needle about its pivotal mount so that the end of the filling needle enters the wide end of the shed and is projected therethrough to the opposite side thereof and is retracted in a path adjacent the fell of the shed and is advanced along the side of the shed on which the filling needle is mounted to a point adjacent the wide end of the shed, said path being such that the parallel aligned legs of the filling needle will straddle the hook end or" the knitting needle so that said hook will engage the span of thread between said fingers, said hooked needle being reciprocably mounted to knit loops in said thread.

4. In a loom, having shed forming means, a filling needle, means mounting said filling needle on one side of shed for movement of said filling needle back and forth through said shed, said needle having a bifurcated end defining a pair of parallel aligned legs, the free end of one of the legs having an opening defining a guide eye for filling thread, and the free end of the other leg being bifurcated to define a pair of fingers lying in the same plane and defining a space aligned with said opening, one of said fingers being curved outwardly away from the other finger and toward the leg having said thread opening, means when said bifurcated end of the filling needle is on said one side of the shed to position the thread extending through said opening, between the fingers of said other leg, to form a span of thread between said legs, a knitting needle on the other side of the shed, said needle having a hooked end, the movement of the filling needle through the shed being in a path such that the aligned legs of the filling needle will straddle the hooked end of the knitting needle for engagement by said hook of the span of thread between said legs, said knitting needle being reciprocably mounted to knit loops in the thread in a plane substantially at right angles to the path of movement of the knitting needle.

5. As an article of manufacture, a filling needle having an elongated shaft bifurcated at its free end to define a pair of parallel legs, one of the legs having a thread opening at its free end, the other leg being bifurcated to define a pair of fingers lying in the same plane and defining a space therebetween aligned with the thread opening, one of said fingers being curved outwardly away from the other finger and toward the leg having said thread opening.

6. The combination set forth in claim 5 in which said curved finger is in the form of a loop secured to the end of the leg having the thread opening.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,236,325 Vorck Mar. 25, 1941 2,769,462 Libby Nov. 6, 1956 2,980,146 ONeill Apr. 18, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 18,084 Great Britain of 1888 

1. IN A LOOM, HAVING SHED FORMING MEANS, A FILLING NEEDLE SLIDABLY AND PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON ONE SIDE OF THE SHED, MEANS ON THE END OF SAID NEEDLE SLIDABLY TO MOUNT A VERTICAL SPAN OF THREAD, A CAMMING MEMBER CARRIED BY SAID NEEDLE TO RETAIN WARP THREADS IN THE SHED ENGAGED BY THE FILLING NEEDLE IN A PLANE SUBSTANTIALLY AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THE PLANE OF SAID VERTICAL SPAN AND AT THE BOTTOM END OF THE LATTER, A KNITTING NEEDLE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SHED, SAID NEEDLE HAVING A HOOK END, MEANS FOR SWINGING SAID FILLING NEEDLE ABOUT ITS PIVOTAL MOUNT SO THAT THE END OF SAID FILLING NEEDLE ENTERS THE WIDE END OF THE SHED AND IS PROJECTED THERETHROUGH TO THE OPPOSITE SIDE THEREOF AND IS RETRACTED IN A PATH ADJACENT THE FELL OF THE SHED AND IS ADVANCED ALONG THE SIDE OF THE SHED ON WHICH THE FILLING NEEDLE IS MOUNTED TO A POINT ADJACENT THE WIDE END OF THE SHED, SAID PATH BEING SUCH THAT THE VERTICAL SPAN OF THREAD CARRIED BY SAID FILLING NEEDLE WILL BE ENGAGED BY THE HOOK END OF THE KNITTING NEEDLE, SAID HOOKED NEEDLE BEING RECIPROCABLY MOUNTED TO KNIT LOOPS IN THE THREAD. 